David Warner breaks down fronting media over ball-tampering

Saturday Sport
31/03/2018

Former Australian vice-captain David Warner fears his international career could be over because of his role in cricket's ball-tampering scandal.

"In the back of my mind I suppose there is a tiny ray of hope that I may one day be given the privilege of playing for my country again, but I am resigned to the fact that that may never happen," he told a press conference in Sydney on Saturday.

Warner and axed captain Steve Smith received one-year suspensions for their role in the affair while batsman Cameron Bancroft has been banned for nine months.

ddressing the media for the first since Bancroft was caught tampering with the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town last week, Warner said he took responsibility for his actions.

But he refused to say if he was the chief architect or if other teammates were involved in the decision to use sandpaper on the ball, frustrating reporters and a nation demanding answers.

"I am here to talk about the part I played in this. It's inexcusable. I am sorry," Warner said.

Asked if retirement was an option, Warner said: "That's something that I will continue to sit down with my family and weigh up all my considerations before I make any decisions."

Warner cut short the press conference when asked if he was being singled out as the mastermind of the scandal.

He also failed to answer questions asking if anyone else but the banned trio knew of the cheating plot, or if he had ball tampered before.